


Come Back Home

by capsmightyshield



Category: Age of Ultron - Fandom, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie), Fluff and Angst, M/M, Mostly Fluff, Mutual Pining, Post-Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie), Tony Has Feelings, and so does steve, home is where the heart is y'all, not super husbands but super boyfriends, steve and tony miss each other, surprise bar visits, tony misses his Capscicle
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-06
Updated: 2015-05-06
Packaged: 2018-03-29 05:57:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3884998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/capsmightyshield/pseuds/capsmightyshield
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve let Tony leave knowing he would miss his scientist, and Tony left knowing he would miss his super soldier.  A chance, or not so chance, meeting at an old dive bar brings the two back together and finally gives the two what they've been missing the most.  Home.<br/>*with bonus fun ending*</p>
            </blockquote>





	Come Back Home

**Author's Note:**

> Note that this is my first time writing fic in forever so if this isn't as good as it could be just... work with me because hopefully things will get better as I get bearings for the site and get them back for fic writing. This does contain, slight very slight, spoilers for parts of Avengers: Age of Ultron. I hope y'all enjoy :)

Tony shoved his hands into the pocket of his worn jeans as he stared at the bar in front of him.  Looking up at the name he checked his phone, sending off a quick text to Nat thanking her.  Ever since leaving Steve at the new Avengers facility he'd been hard at work.  The clothes he wore were a testament to that, having fallen back into the style he'd adopted from Clint in their time on his out of the way "safe house".  He remembered the words Steve had said, clear as if they'd been said to him yesterday and not months ago.  It had been long sleepless months, not having Steve or even JARVIS to remind him when he actually needed bed, instead of just dropping from sheer exhaustion.  It was just as hard as it was long.  Tony had missed his partner for many reasons, comfort being the first and foremost.  The things that Wanda had shown him still haunted him, even though they had saved the world, it still shook him, seeing his team mates, his friends laying before him dead, and Fury had hit it on the head when he said that Tony wasn't just upset because his friends had died, but because he hadn't.  The nightmares jolted him awake most nights, the only reprieve he got was when he was so tired that his brain didn't even have the strength to form a dream, let alone a nightmare.  And on the sleepless nights he couldn't help but miss his AI, because back in the tower at least he had JARVIS to keep him company, to talk to him, and have the sense, for a non sentient AI, to let Tony know that it was alright and enough was enough.  He didn't have his AI or his partner and it was time to bring at least one of them home, because all that wide open space was just too much.

The dark haired genius stepped foot into the dimly lit bar.  It was pretty dingy for lack of a better word.  Not the kinda place that Tony would ever have pictured Steve going into, but with a glance around, the blonde head stuck out immediately.  Tony's chest tightened, in the way it only did when he saw Steve after not seeing him for a weeks, or in the way it did when he would find Steve in Bruce's lab on the mend after a particularly bad hit during a mission.  It was a tightening of relief, of familiarity, of knowing that he was as closer to home than he had been.  It was also a tightening of love, his chest tightening as it tried to make room in it's small space for his heart to swell with the emotion that he only ever allowed the man, who's back was to him, to see.

With a deep breath Tony sidled up to the bar and called over the bartender.  He uncapped another beer and sat it in front of Steve before walking over to Tony and asking him to pick his poison.  The scientist bit his tongue not letting the sarcastic remark, about how anything in there could probably poison him with just a touch, let alone a drink, pass over his lips.

"That blonde guy you just served--" Tony started.

"You mean Cap?" The bartender interrupted, giving Tony a look up and down before giving a sidelong glance at the blind at the end of the bar, who sat seemingly mesmerized by the Yankees game that was flowing across the screen.

"Yes, him.  Look, you may or may not remember who I am but --"

"Yeah I know who you are, you're Ir--"

"Shhh!" Tony shushed, turning his head when he noticed Steve turn to see what the commotion was about.  He waited a few seconds, the bartender tapping the bar impatiently until Tony turned to look at him again. "Yeah, yeah I am, but look it's been a few months since he and I have seen each other and I was wondering if you would let me serve him his next drink.  As a surprise."  Tony looked at him, hands already going to his wallet in case the man needed a little incentive.  The grungy looking man in his alcohol stained t-shirt and calloused hands looked at Tony one more time, giving a wary glance before his shoulders moved up and down in a nonchalant shrug.

"Sure, I could use a break anyhow.  Maybe you can take away that lost look in his eyes."  The man shrugged again and tossed Tony his bar towel.  Tony thanked him, and walked around the bar, watching as the man pulled a pack of cigarettes from his shirt pocket, and headed towards the back.

Tony took a steadying breath.  He hadn't seen, Steve in person for months, only videos from the training center as he and Natasha tried to whip, Rhodey, Wanda, ~~Jarvis~~ Vision, and Sam into shape to take over for them.  He slung the bar towel over the shoulder of his plaid shirt and walked over to Where Steve was sitting.  He knew the man wasn't paying attention, but Tony couldn't stop the smile on his face even if he'd tried.  His breath heaved in relief and it took all of him not to just stand and stare.  Picking up two shot glasses he wiped them off with the cleanest part of the towel and set one down next to Steve's half drunken beer.  Turning he looked behind him and found a semi good bottle of bourbon and poured it into the glasses.

"Hey soldier," Tony started slowly, trying to keep his smirk at bay at the way Steve seemed to perk up at just the sound of his voice, "Compliments of the bar tender."  He pushed the shot glass into Steve's line of vision, the smirk he'd tried to hold back, crossing his face as Steve turned to him.  The look in his eyes made Tony want to reach across the bar and plant one on the blond soldier right then but he planned to keep up the rouse as long as he could.  Wanting to see if Steve would play along.  Tony clinked his glass against Steve's before downing his shot, eyes never leaving the bright blue ones of his soldier.

Steve watched him, before draining his own shot glass slowly, settling it on the bar before turning his full attention to Tony.  "Haven't seen you around here before, but you look familiar."  He said, tapping his glass for Tony to pour another.  Tony obliged pouring another for both of them.

"Nah, this is my first time here.  Just blew into town, and literally got the job a few seconds ago.  And between you and me you being the only customer around is kinda what swayed me."  Tony chuckled lightly before drinking down his shot, his eyebrow cocking pointedly over fond brown eyes.

"Oh, really?  What's so special about me?"

"I'll leave out the fact that you're Captain America, and just say that I have a thing for guys with blond hair, blue eyes and a dopey grin." Tony laughed at the way Steve rolled his eyes before downing his drink.  Tony poured them another as he spoke.  "Now, the last guy said that you were looking a little lost, may I ask why?"

Tony watched as Steve sighed and leaned against the bar hands folded as he looked up at Tony sincerely.  "I can't seem to find my way home, barkeep." There was a hint of a smile on Steve lips at his last word but his expression mostly continued on in it's stoic manner, even though his eyes gave away everything.

"Maybe I shouldn't be pouring you any more drinks then, Captain."  Tony smirked, at being called barkeep, as he rested his hand on the bar, mere inches from Steve's forearm.  He wanted so badly to reach out, but he wanted to keep the rouse up for just a bit longer, liking the back and forth between he and the Star Spangled Man with a Plan.

"Nah, it's not the drinks.  In fact it's not even me being lost it's more like my home is lost to me... if that makes anymore sense?  I know where home is I just, I've been waiting for it to come back to me."  Steve answered after a long silence, filled only by the sound of him knocking back another shot.  He moved his far arm, leaning his chin against his palm as he looked back at the shorter man.

"So home left you, you didn't leave it?  That sounds harsh buddy," Tony replied filling Steve's glass again, glad that the man before him couldn't get drunk, but indulged him anyway.  "What's your home like anyway?"

"It was more of a mutual separating of ways but, it couldn't last forever.  Neither of us seems to do very well without the other for long.  Homes need upkeep and so do the tenants they house and my home and I had a pretty good balance until the whole, robot world destruction thing."  Steve sighed again, looking down at Tony's hand. It hadn't moved any closer to trying to touch him, but he knew one of them would break soon enough.  "Ah yes home is, well it's pretty special to me.  The outside is nice, very attractive, with plenty of curb appeal.  The inside though even better.  It took awhile to clear away some of the accumulated rif-raf but in the end the time was well spent.  I love my home, because no matter what we've gone through together it still standing on its own legs and going strong.  I honestly was sold on it from the beginning but it took a little while to close the deal.

"Sounds like a great place, and you sound like a lucky man.  I've got a place like that too and I think it's about time I came back to it.  I've been away for too long." Tony replied, his expression growing softer with every exchange between them.

"You have no idea." Steve replied.  He moved the arm closest to Tony and lifted his hand to dance across Tony's wrist as he dropped the charade, "Tony, I'm ready to come home." He murmured in a tone soft enough for only Tony to here, even though they were the only two in the building.

Tony leaned in pressing his forehead to Steve's, his eyes closed as he breathed out slowly.  He felt Steve move in as close the bar between them wood allow, leaning up so that their noses brushed together, as Steve's eyes closed too.  It had been too long, and Tony and Steve couldn't stand to be apart any longer.  It was strange the way they left, both knowing that they couldn't really last long without the other's presence in some way.  Did they bug each other, sure, but it was out of love.  Tony harassed Steve about his old fashioned ways, and Steve harassed Tony about getting enough sleep and not drinking to much.  They were the glue holding each other together and without reapplication they would both hopelessly fall apart.

"Welcome home Steve, Welcome home."

\----------------------------------------------------

The bartender peeked around the corner with a smile on his face. Looking on at the scene from the two men at the bar.  Ducking back around the corner he went further towards the back, holding a hand to his ear.

"Nat, are you there?"

"Here and waiting.  Did it work?"

The man reached his hand up and wiped a hand across his face slowly removing the piece of tech that covered his face.  He chuckled to himself as he tossed it towards the garbage can and leaned back against one of the shelves.

"Operation: Take Steve Home, is officially a success!"


End file.
